


TLT Warrior Cats au (I need name ideas HELP!)

by S46354595



Category: The Locked Tomb Trilogy | Gideon the Ninth Series - Tamsyn Muir, Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: The People’s Tomb Fic Jam: First
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:56:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26817718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/S46354595/pseuds/S46354595
Summary: When the Dark Forest cats rose against the Clan cats, they were defeated. Or so the stories say...What if Tigerstar hadn’t been defeated by Firestar? What if he had discovered a powerful magic, and used it to put himself back in power?Enter Gideon, small orange ball of self-proclaiming hotness. Gideon spent her young life listening to her foster mother tell stories about the Clan cats. Now, she has the chance to join the Clans, and become a warrior herself. But during Gideon’s training as an apprentice, things don’t line up exactly as she’d hoped. Dark secrets start to unravel, and she’s forced to choose between loyalty to the Clan she’s always dreamed of joining, or loyalty to her newfound friends.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> The prologue is for the People’s Locked Tomb discord server “First.” Mercymorn gets her first prophecy from Starclan.
> 
> I’m not sure how long this au will be, but I’m guessing pretty long. So just bear with me!
> 
> I tried to write more in the style of warrior cats than TLT, mostly because I just know it really well. Or at least I think I do. Who knows if it comes across well in my writing.

Lyctorclan

Leader:

Johnstar—large brown tom with lots of battle scars

Deputy:

Augustalon—black tom with a white belly

Medicine Cat:

Mercymorn—Himalayan she-cat with very long fur

Warriors:

Judithdew—slender brown tabby she-cat  
Martaclaw—Havana brown, she-cat  
Coronarose—grey she-cat with beautiful long fur  
Goldenianthe—lanky gray she-cat with dark stripes; apprentice, Babspaw  
Abigailpine—white she-cat with light orange splotches; apprentice, Jeanpaw  
Magnustorm—orange tom with flecks of white; apprentice, Isaacpaw  
Camillaheart—gray tabby she-cat; apprentice, Sexpaw  
Dulcineablossom—orange tabby she-cat, is often sick  
Prowhisker—light brown tom with dark stripes  
Silasowl—big white tom; apprentice, Columpaw  
Harrowhark—impossibly small black she-cat

Apprentices:

Babspaw—tortoiseshell tom with slicked back fur  
Jeanpaw—dark orange tabby she-cat  
Isaacpaw—tan colored tom with dark brown stripes  
Sexpaw—light grey tom  
Columpaw—white tom with black patches

Queens:

None at the moment

Elders:

None at the moment

Loners/Outsiders:

Gideon—bright orange she-cat with long fur  
Aiglamene— brown tabby she-cat with a white belly  
Teacher— gray tabby tom, lives on the farm  
Crux—gray tabby tom, lives on the farm

Prologue

Ten moons ago...

Mercymorn awoke to find herself huddled underneath a short bush. This was most definitely not where she had laid down to sleep, which meant that Starclan was finally calling her. Or maybe it was just a dumb mouse dream again. She stretched her stiff legs and quietly padded out into the clearing before her. Unsurprisingly, no cats waited to greet her. She had not received a single message from Starclan, despite Johnstar’s insistence that medicine cats were supposed to talk to their ancestors.

She sat down on a tuft of moss, licking her long fur which had tangled in the brush and snared a few leaves. When Mercymorn was finished, she laid back down, hoping that this dream would be over, and she could get back to snoozing in her nest. A breeze stirred her fur, and suddenly, she picked up the scent of another cat. Mercymorn sat up hastily, peering towards the forest where the scent had drifted from.

An old tom sauntered out from between two great oaks, but not one she recognized. His fur was bright orange, almost as bright as the midday sun. He practically shone with radiance.

“Mercymorn,” he said to her.

“Y-yes?” she stammered back, curious how this stranger knew her name.

“I have been waiting a long time to meet you.”  
His cryptic words spooked her, right down to the bone. His words resonated with power.

“Who are you?” she demanded. “Where am I? Is this my dream, or was I kidnapped?”

The orange tom sat back on his haunches, wrapping his tail around his front paws. “Surely you’ve heard of this place?” he asked. He did not wait for her to answer before going on. “My name is not important. I have come to deliver a message.”

Mercymorn continued to stare quizzically at him. “Alright, I suppose I can take a message.”

“Many moons ago, these forests were peaceful.” his head tilted to one side in recollection. “Well, mostly. There was one cat who stood against the peace. His name was Tigerstar.”

Mercymorn rolled her eyes. Typical old cats and their stories. She would probably wake up in a bit and remember none of this.

“The cats of the four clans stood up against him, fought to stop a tyranny in the making.” Mercymorn thought she saw a bit of anger flash in his eyes. “We failed. Tigerclaw learned a few new tricks from his time living in the Dark Forest, ones that we did not account for.”

The old tom stood up suddenly, his tail lashing from side to side. “Starclan’s oldest prophecy was overwritten, and history was changed forever that day.”

So maybe there was really a Starclan, Mercymorn thought to herself. Maybe this was one of those dead cats.

“I have watched the clans struggle for many moons now, and it is finally time to act.”

Despite knowing that this sparkling cat might be of Starclan, Mercymorn could not find in herself a single whisker of care. Why come to her now, and not the day she was appointed as Lyctorclan’s new medicine cat?

The tom’s next words were rushed, as if he were embarrassed to say them aloud. “I need you to sleep with Johnstar and have his kit. As soon as possible.”

Mercymorn jolted upright at this request. “What?” she asked. This must be a dream. No Starclan cat would ask her to break the code of the medicine cats, and with their leader no less.

“You’re crazy.” Mercymorn spat out. “I don’t believe one line of this fox dung. Go away and let me go back to hunting mice in my sleep.” She turned to leave, but he was suddenly in front of her.

“If you won’t do it, then find some other cat that will. Any cat. Please.” The look on his face was sheer desperation. “I’ve been trying to contact you for ages. Johnstar did something when he blurred the lines between death and life. Starclan can no longer communicate with the living cats. Not even the far-out Skyclan.”

“Skyclan? What nonsense is this? Just shut up and let me sleep in peace!”

She tried to run back across the clearing, but there he was again, right in her path, same as before.

“As much as I’d love to honor that request, I can’t do that. I need you to promise me that you’ll find some she-cat willing to mate with Johnstar.”

Mercymorn felt her anger rising, and hissed in his face. “Let me leave!”

“I can’t do that.” said the tom, calm as the night sky that shone above their heads. “Not until you promise me.”

“What happens if I don’t?”

The smug look written on his face was almost scary. “Then I’ll interrupt your dreams until you do. Now that I know how to get you here, I won’t hesitate to keep dragging you back here every night.”

Mercymorn crouched low to the ground, hissing at him. “What if I kill you?”

The tom mrrowed with laughter. “I’m already dead. I’ve been dead for more moons than you can even imagine.”

“That won’t stop me.” she spat back, “I’ve killed ghosts before.”

“It’s your choice.” he said calmly. “You can listen to me now, or see me every night until you do.”

“And if I kill you?”

The tom shook his head. “I’m not a ghost, or a soul. I’m a warrior of Starclan. There’s something unique about us that trumps even the darkest of magic.”

Mercymorn raked a frustrated claw through the grass, let it rip out and get stuck between her pads. If what this cat claimed about himself was true, she knew that even Johnstar’s endless powers couldn’t touch him. Starclan cats faded in their own time, at their own pace. No amount of trying could speed along or slow down the process. She might be stuck with this idiot haunting her dreams for the rest of her extended life.

She finally looked back into his eyes. “And if I do what you say? If I find Johnstar a one night mate, and she has his kit? What then?”

The old cat smiled at her. “You’ll have to find that out on your own.”


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter: Gideon

Chapter 1

“You’re doing great, Gideon.” A young she-cat was circling the cat who had spoken, her thick orange tail lashing back and forth playfully. She lunged, twisting midair to avoid her adopted mother’s long claws. Even with only three paws, Aiglamene was a force to be reckoned with.

But what do you expect from a cat trained in the clans? She studied how to fight as thoroughly as kittypets studied how to be petted properly and lounge in the sun all day. When Gideon landed, she bit at Aiglamene’s stub leg, earning a loud yowl in response. But the older she-cat didn’t criticize her dirty tricks. Anything was fair game in battle.

After a bit more training, they were both winded and covered in tiny scrapes. Gideon had lost, as usual, but at least she got a few good blows in before Aiglamene pinned her to the ground.

Aiglamene licked one of the small scrapes on her side, her brown and white patchy fur looking even more brown with mud and little bits of dried blood. She paused between licks to say, “Good job with that midair twist. You avoided my claws and got a nip in on my bad leg. But watch your tail. It’s always lashing about. Some other cat could easily sneak up behind you while you’re distracted and pin it.”

Gideon took mental note of that, and tucked it between her back paws. But it was too fluffy and too long for that. She would easily trip over it. Instead, she laid it flat up against her back.

“How’s this?” Gideon asked, striking a battle pose, now with her tail successfully out of harms way.

“Much better.” Aiglamene nodded in approval. “But you’ll need to practice more with this trick, as you’ll be likely to lose your balance without your tail to help you.”

Being an almost-apprentice was hard work, but she loved every moment of it. The thrill of the battle always left her with more energy than she knew what to do with. She still felt the hum of their fight, even though she was worn out.

But despite the boundless energy, somehow, she was hungry. “Lunch time!” Gideon yowled. “Let’s go hunting.”

Mrrows of laughter rolled off Aiglamene’s mostly white chest. “Don’t be in such a hurry. You might scare off all the prey.”

“What prey wouldn’t want to be caught by these gorgeous paws?” the orange she-cat asked in response, a hint of laughter on her face too. “Prey should feel honored to be eaten by me, Gideon, the hottest cat alive.” she said in the most ludicrous voice she could muster.

“Any prey with a sense of smell would be running the other direction at the stench of you two idiots.” said a low voice from nearby.

Aiglamene was immediately on her paws, and Gideon rushed to her side.

A pure white tom stepped out from the shadows of a bush. How did they miss his smell?

“I’ve been watching you two for some time now.” his voice hauntingly eerie.

“Explain yourself. What do you want with us?” Aiglamene demanded, her hackles raising.

The tom laughed in a definitely-never-trusting-him-with-my-life kind of way. “I’m just being funny, you don’t have to take it so harshly.” Gideon noted the way his eyes glinted, like he had something to hide.

“My name is Silasowl.” All of Gideon’s creepy perceptions about this mysterious cat were completely torn apart when she heard his name.

“You’re a clan cat!” She blurted. All the energy from their mock fight surged through her once more, her hunger forgotten. She looked over at Aiglamene, giving her a look that spoke volumes. It was the look she always gave her, the one that meant she was waiting for permission to join the clans. It’s all she ever really wanted. Her adopted mother gave a sharp twitch of her head. Gideon sighed. Another no.

He laughed in that same maniacal laugh again. ”I take it you’d like to be a young warrior apprentice?”

Gideon gave him a flat look. “Do cats make dirt?”

Silasowl stared at her blankly, the sarcasm obviously going right over his head like a sparrow. He opened his mouth, probably to ask her a dumb question, but Aiglamene spoke first. “What’s a clan cat like you doing out this far? I thought the other clan cats lived close to the lake. Or at least they did when I was a young warrior.”

Silasowl’s face lit up at that piece of information. “You were a warrior?” Looking at his eyes, Gideon could see that same expression as before. You know, the mysterious one. The one that said, I have secrets so deep, that your tiny secrets can fit inside the butthole of my secret, with plenty of room for more.

“Many moons ago.” Whenever the older she-cat spoke of her time in the clans, it wasn’t with the kind of fervor Gideon expected. She expected to hear tales of epic battles, life by the lake, squabbles over who got the last mouse from the fresh kill. Aiglamene’s descriptions of the clans were always laced with a tinge of sadness. Like she’d left because she lost her mate, or something equally sappy. But she always avoided Gideon’s prying questions with ease, changing the topic quicker than the leaves change colors at the start of leaf fall.

“If you don’t mind my asking,” he began. Oh she most certainly did, probably, well Gideon could only assume she did, “which clan did you belong to?”

“Skyclan.” Aiglamene spoke with uncharacteristic seriousness.

Silasowl tilted his head to one side. “Sky...clan.” He sounded out the word like he’d never heard it before, as if Skyclan wasn’t obviously the most notorious, the most epic-poem-worthy clan, but then simply shrugged.

Gideon spoke up to fill the silence. “I’m going to join Skyclan one day. I’ll fight the toughest rogues, and find myself a hot mate.” She waggled her eyes at that, which made Silasowl look away in disgust. Old cats were such bores.

“I’m from Lyctorclan.” he said. “We rule the lake, and we’re looking for new recruits.” He looked down at Gideon. She just realized how much taller he was than her. “I know you’ve got your heart set on this, Shyclan, or whatever it is, but at least consider my offer before choosing.”

She looked to Aiglamene for answers about this mysterious clan, but she seemed to be staring off into the distance, her face unreadable. After what seemed like forever, Aiglamene shook her pelt and gave Silasowl a stern look. “No, thank you. We are fine living out here, alone.”

Gideon’s mouth dropped open. Sure, it wasn’t an offer from a Skyclan warrior, but it was still a clan. What if she never got another chance to join a clan? What if this was her one chance at finding that hot mate she’d always dreamed of? There was no way she was about to let this opportunity pass by.

“I accept.”

Aiglamene whipped her head to face Gideon. “No, you don’t. You’re going to join Skyclan, remember?”

“Let the kit pick.” Silasowl seemed very smug with himself. “She can choose whichever clan she wishes to join. If this Spryclan isn’t what she wants, don’t force it on her.”

Gideon lashed her tail at the both of them. “First, it’s SKYclan, not any of those other mouse brained names, and second, why can’t I join the clan of my choice?”

Aiglamene gave her a stern look. “You’re not interested in Lyctorclan, you’re just trying to rebel against me, and you know it.”

“No!” Gideon practically growled the word. “I’m tired of this life. I want to be in a clan, fighting for my every breath, not play fighting like kits in a mud hole.” Something deep in her chest was building, like her whole life lad led up to this one speech. Not that it did. Honestly, it probably didn’t. But it sure felt like it. “I just want my chance to be a warrior, like every other wild born cat. I’m sick of you always telling me no, I can’t leave and join the clans. I’m ten moons old! Apprentices are chosen at six!” She was practically spitting with rage. Her claws kept sheathing and unsheathing without her permission.

“Mother,” she said with the most sarcastic tone she could manage in such a state, “I’m not even your kit. I’m just some stray you picked up because I was going to die anyways. I want to go somewhere and do something that matters.”

Aiglamene scoffed at her words. “You’d give your undying loyalty to a clan, but not me, the cat who raised you?”

She clawed at the dirt, growling low in her throat. “Of course I care about you. I just don’t want to live the rest of my life without knowing what it’s like to be surrounded by clanmates, huddling for warmth in the apprentices’ den, fighting for them because they’re your best friends.”

“But you’d do that for a clan you don’t even know? I don’t remember much about Lyctorclan, surely not enough to prepare you for whatever you’d be walking into.”

Gideon sat down on her haunches, all the fight leaving her body. “I just want to know what it’s like.” She looked down at the hard mud beneath her paws. Why couldn’t Aiglamene understand her?

“Both of you would be welcome in Lyctorclan. I’m sure that having two keen fighters such as you would be an asset to any clan.” Silasowl said with patience.

Aiglamene sat down next to Gideon, wrapping her tail around hers. She didn’t bother to looked up at her adopted mother. There was only one thing she could be planning on saying, the same thing she had told her over and over again. No. You’re not old enough. I don’t want you getting hurt in clan battles. Isn’t my training good enough?

“Is this what you really want?” Gideon looked up at the brown and white she-cat, feeling the beating of her heart speed up suddenly.

Was this what she wanted? This other clan wasn’t Skyclan, wasn’t exactly what she’d dreamed of. She didn’t feel entirely confident in saying yes to this stranger’s offer, but despite her reservations, it was the kind of offer that you just couldn’t say no to.

“Yes.” Gideon meowed to her Aiglamene.

“Hey,” she said, turning back to Silasowl, “whoever thought that Lickclan was an acceptable name? Isn’t there a failsafe in place to ensure all the clans don’t end up with equally disturbing names like, oh, Yourfaceclan, or some dirt?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you guys think. I’ve never written a fanfic before so comments would be great.
> 
> Honestly, half of this was planned out because of the jokes.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

After three days of travel, all the time Silasowl being very silent and stoic (which of course made him look extremely suspicious, but at the same time very focused and cool), Gideon found herself staring at the edge of a weird twoleg place. Rather than the usual rows of dens upon dens, most of this place was grass and weird animals. There were a few large dens spread out, some of them white, others bright red. One of the strange animals made a very low sound. It’s pelt was black and white in a random pattern, and it was huge. Gideon flattened herself to the ground, ready to flee if it charged at her.

“That’s just a cow, Gideon. It won’t hurt you, even if you attacked it.” Silasowl said. Aiglamene placed her tail on Gideon’s back, also taking up a protective stance.

The young orange she-cat gave him a wary eye, not trusting his word. “Or maybe you’re just saying that so it can squash me with those giant feet.”

While Silasowl had listened patiently to her rambling questions about this Lyctorclan, he also was the most boring cat ever. He doesn’t have a mate, doesn’t have favorite prey, and doesn’t have any weird habits as far as she can tell. Gideon tried to ask him about battles, but he didn’t want to talk about fighting.

“Negotiation,” he said a day ago, “is always the solution. Why risk lives if you don’t have to?”

And Gideon had replied, “Because fighting is exciting!”

He had turned away at those words and proceeded to shut his jaw about personal matters for the rest of the trip. Until now.

They went around the weird twoleg place, avoiding all the strange animals. Some of them were eating grass, others were purposely getting dirty in the mud, and the cows were all chewing on something. Not grass, maybe a rock? Do cows eat rocks? That’s weird as fox. When they reached the final red den, Silasowl took them inside.

“Crux!” he called out, “Teacher! Are you in here?”

Gideon sniffed the air, weird smells wafting out from inside this giant den. She could smell mice, cow, and a few other things she wasn’t able to identify. Who were Crux and Teacher? Kittypets?

“Silasowl!” came a response from up high. A gray tabby was making his way down from a giant pile of, something. It was light brown, and looked like tiny sticks, or maybe dried reeds from a riverbank. Besides smelling weird, it scratched at the pads of her paws, digging in, despite their thickness.

The newcomer smelled almost exactly like the giant den, a mix of cow and whatever this scratchy stuff was. He looked old, but no older than Silasowl, who was almost old enough to give up being a warrior. “Good to see you made it back safely,” the tom said with a huge smile. “Who are these two lovely she-cats?”

Gideon rolled her eyes, and caught Aiglamene doing the same. At least they agreed on one thing: old toms were the worst.

“Teacher, I’d like you to meet Aiglamene and Gideon. They’re going to be joining Lyctorclan.”

Teacher’s eyes lit up. “New recruits? How exciting! But where’s Columpaw? I thought you had taken him with you?”

Silasowl shook his head. “He decided to travel with Judithdew instead. She wasn’t so sure of the mountain terrain, but Columpaw offered to show her the way, as he traveled there with me a few moons back.”

Columpaw? An apprentice? Gideon felt her heartbeat race. Would she get to train with this young cat once she joined Lyctorclan?

A light breeze wafted through the giant structure, and Gideon caught the scent of another cat. She looked around, searching for the other cat, but the other cat apparently didn’t want to be seen.

“How is Crux doing these days?” Silasowl asked. “Last I saw you two, there was a lot of fighting going on.”

There was a loud yowl from somewhere up high. “Oh, shut up Silasowl! We do not fight!”

“Tell that to the scratch on my nose!” argued Teacher. Now that he mentioned the scrape, Gideon saw that the fur just above his nose was red and scabby.

“That was a crow, you mouse brained idiot!” came the voice of Crux again from somewhere near the rafters.

Gideon couldn’t hold back her laughter, but suddenly wished she had. The sound echoed its way around the gigantic den, interrupting their impromptu argument.

“Who’s laughing?” called Crux, finally peering his face over the edge of the scratchy cubes. His face was exactly the same as Teacher’s, except he didn’t have a big scratch across his muzzle.

Teacher sighed. “You’ll have to forgive his manners, young kit.” He lowered his voice and added, “He’s not the easiest cat to get along with.”

“What did you say?” yowled Crux. Gideon wasn’t sure if he heard the last sentence and was being indignant about it, or was annoyed that he didn’t.

Even Aiglamene was smiling slightly at their banter. Gideon took that as encouragement and whispered in her ear, “They should just hate-mate already.” Of course, Aiglamene didn’t take that comment with as much laughter as Gideon did, and instead flicked a paw over her ear.

“What?” Gideon whispered, ducking to avoid the swipe. “They obviously need to get out their anger somehow, and with as old as they are, they definitely shouldn’t be fighting. Especially not way up there where one of them could fall to their death.”

“Then maybe I’ll finally get some peace and quiet around here!” yowled Crux, obviously having heard everything this time.

Teacher turned his head upwards and started arguing back. Within just a few short moments, they had both completely forgotten they had guests and were stalking towards each other, hissing and spitting and throwing insults around like leaves.

Gideon wanted to stay and watch, but Silasowl and Aiglamene ushered her out the way they had came.

“I don’t know why I bother trying to talk to those two.” Silasowl said once they had made it back to the open fields. “When I was younger, they had been a part of one of the other clans. I don’t know when they left, or why. I keep hoping maybe they’ll join Lyctorclan, but they have grown old. How could they fight for us now?”

Gideon ignored him and padded onward. Up ahead, she could see a large body of water. Silasowl was taking them directly towards it. Did the clans live by a lake? Aiglamene had never mentioned a lake. Only rocky cliffs and a river.

“Are there many other clans?” Gideon asked, trying to get Silasowl talking about the clans again.

“Yes.”

“How many?”

“There are five, including Lyctorclan.”

“What about Skyclan? Are they here too?”

It was Aiglamene who spoke up to answer this question. “No, Gideon. Skyclan does not live by the lake. But the other clans do.” She looked ahead at the lake, her old eyes squinting to see it. “I have never been to the other clans. We had our own way of connecting to Starclan and having Gatherings.”

“What are the other clans?” Gideon prodded her foster mother for answers. Maybe if she knew some things about them, they wouldn’t see her as an outsider.

“The original five clans were Skyclan, Thunderclan, Windclan, Riverclan, and Shadowclan.” meowed Aiglamene. “Lyctorclan is new. I’d heard of them just before I left Skyclan.”

“Yes,” Silasowl said, “Lyctorclan was formed not too long ago. The clans were at war with each other, and we were created to rule over them, to keep the peace.”

Gideon’s eyes lit up at the prospect of battle. “Will I get to fight?”

“Maybe,” mused Silasowl. “But we clan cats don’t fight unnecessarily. It goes against the warrior code. Only fight when provoked, and only if there is no other way.”

“But I want to fight!” she yowled. “I want to know what it’s like to tussle with real warriors.”

Silasowl looked back at her, but said nothing. She felt Aiglamene rest her tail on her back. “He’s right. The warrior code is what we live our lives by. I’ve done my best to teach it to you, if you were ever paying attention.”

Gideon noticed how her voice quivered with something akin to excitement. She wondered if Aiglamene missed being part of a clan after all these moons.

“I know the warrior code,” she mewed, “but that doesn’t mean I don’t find fighting exciting.”

Silasowl chuckled in that mysterious way again. “Don’t worry, you’ll be an apprentice soon. You will be so busy that you won’t even have time to pine after battle.”

Gideon tried to remember what her foster mother had told her about apprentices. Hunting, battle training, taking care of the elders. Aside from the last one, they all sounded great. Maybe she would be too preoccupied to yearn for clan squabbles.

But there was one thing missing. One glaringly obvious thing that no one had even acknowledged. So she went right ahead and asked. “Hey Silasowl, does Lyctorclan have any smokin’ hot she-cats?”

Aiglamene’s second clout over the ears was the only answer she got.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This whole chapter was me coming up with “hate-mate” and just NEEDING to put it in here.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Everything from the shore on out was calm and blue. They had stopped to rest at a shallow inlet that led most of the way to the twoleg place with the strange animals. Gideon tested a paw in the water, and found it to be much colder than she had anticipated. She took a few laps, but did not jump in for a swim. Even though there was mud caked on her fur from sparring with Aiglamene when they rested yesterday, she didn’t want to freeze.

A soaked Aiglamene watched her, having already cleaned up in the lake. “Well, go on. Don’t just poke it.”

Gideon shook her head and backed up. “Nope. I’ll just get clean the other way.” She flopped down in the grass and started licking at all the mud. It was tedious, and tasted like dirt, but it was better than getting in the lake.

Silasowl walked over and poked at her flank with a claw. “Hurry it up. We don’t have all day. I want to get back before sunset.”

A few short moments later, Aiglamene pushed her into the lake.

Now, a newly drenched and frozen Gideon padded behind Silasowl, peering around him towards the lake. Instead of heading off to the forest on either side, they were headed straight for the main part of the lake. Hopefully these cats didn’t live in the water, because one dunk was enough.

As they got further around the lake, Gideon could see that there was a small strip of land inside the lake. A giant log bridged the gap between the shore and the island.

Silasowl stopped before the trunk of the felled tree. “This is the bridge to our camp.” he said boringly. “We live on this little island, and the other clans live around us. It’s small here, so we hunt on the mainland.”

He jumped up on the log. “Be careful crossing. It’s deeper here than where we were before.” Silasowl dug in his claws, moving slowly across the fallen tree. She climbed up behind him, and copied his motions. Aiglamene followed closely behind her.

They were soon on the other side, and Gideon could smell lots of cats. She couldn’t pick out any in particular, as they all blended together into one big stink. Despite it being a strong smell, something about it soothed her, like the scent of Aiglamene.

“Welcome to your new home.” Silasowl meowed. It was the most sincere thing he had said so far, which somehow made him seem more mysterious to Gideon.

A small black and white cat ran out from the bushes. “Silasowl!” he yowled. “You’re back!” Gideon noted that he looked just like the cows, except much tinier and much more energetic.

This new cat stopped short when he saw the two of them. “You got recruits! Judithdew got stuck on a ledge, so we had to turn back before we made it to the mountain tribe.”

Silasowl inclined his head. “Is she alright, Columpaw?” he asked.

Columpaw replied, “Yeah, she’s fine. We just wasted a few daylight hours trying to get her down without twisting a paw.”

An apprentice! Gideon felt energy roaring through her whole body at the prospect of meeting her new nestmates.

“I’m Gideon,” she said to the apprentice.

“And I’m Aiglamene,” her foster mother added.

Columpaw sat and fluffed out his fur. “Nice to meet you both. I’m Silasowl’s apprentice.”

Another cat shoved their way out from the bushes surrounding the Lyctorclan camp. It was a tiny black she-cat. “Who’s this?” she said in an extremely snooty tone.

Gideon took an immediate dislike to this cat.

“These are our latest recruits, Gideon,” Silasowl gestured to her with his tail, then the larger brown and white tabby, “and Aiglamene.”

The small she-cat gave them both a once over, sneering openly, then turned away just as quick as she arrived. “Hmph,” she huffed as she left.

Sometime during this curt exchange, Columpaw had shifted closer to his mentor, his fur standing on end.

“Rude.” muttered Aiglamene under her breath.

Gideon asked them, “Who was that?”

It was Columpaw who responded with a whispered mew, “Harrowhawk.” He didn’t elaborate, and honestly, she didn’t want to ask. If this was an indication of what the she-cats in Lyctorclan would be like, maybe things weren’t going to go so well.

Thankfully, no one else came up to them on their way into the camp. It was evening, and most cats were lazing about, grooming each other and eating prey. Gideon’s stomach growled at her, reminding her how she hadn’t eaten much today. Would they ask her to go fetch her own prey this late in the night? Not that she wasn’t good at hunting, honestly, she was stellar at hunting, but she was tired from their three and a half day journey.

Silasowl and Columpaw led them over to a large bush. A smoky gray tom sat near the bush, staring at them as they approached.

“Good to see you made it back safely, Silasowl.” he meowed politely.

“Is Johnstar in? I have some new recruits.” Silasowl asked, sitting back on his haunches.

“Yes. I’ll get him.” the smaller gray cat mewed, and darted into the bush.

There were a few hushed meows coming out from inside, but Gideon couldn’t catch any of them. After what seemed like forever, the gray tom exited, followed by another tom.

This cat was much larger, his fur a dark brown, filled with stripes. He walked with his head held high, which made him both impressive and a bit scary. Even without Silasowl saying his name, she would have guessed he was the leader. He had muscles to spare, and was littered with battle scars. It should have been intimidating, meeting the leader of a clan, but Gideon only felt excitement.

He looked them over, but not in the same way that other she-cat had. She had looked down upon them, like they were nothing but kittypets. When Johnstar looked at them, his eyes shone with the same excitement that Gideon felt.

“Welcome, welcome!” he said by way of greeting. “Sexpaw here told me that Silasowl had managed to find a few new recruits. You two must be them.”

Sexpaw? Gideon looked over at the apprentice, and tried not to laugh. He stared right back in defiance, as if daring her to do so. She just barely managed to hold it in.

Thankfully, Aiglamene didn’t react, so she was able to introduce them. “I’m Aiglamene, and this is Gideon. She’s my...I raised her.”

Johnstar was practically beaming.

“I was once part of Skyclan, back in the day. But I quit a long time ago.” She turned around to show off her bad leg. “Can’t exactly fight with this stump.”

She turned back around and sat, draping her tail across Gideon’s back. “Shortly after, I found this little kit and decided to raise her. Either that or she’d have starved in the forest.”

Gideon shrugged her tail off. “Oh, don’t give me the pity routine, you know you love me.”

“How old are you?” Johnstar tilted his head slightly at Gideon, as if mentally trying to guess her age.

“Eight moons.” she said proudly. “Aiglamene has been training me already.”

“Well, as best as I can with this leg.” her foster mother meowed. “As soon as she was old enough, I started training her like she were my apprentice.”

“Would you like to continue to be her mentor?” the big brown tabby asked.

“Dark Forest no.” she spat. “I’m too old for this. Gideon isn’t satisfied with one lesson a day. She wants five before midday, eight in the evening, and after all that, she wants to stay up and go hunting at night.”

Aiglamene gave her a playful nudge, knocking away any hard feelings with her next words. “If I was younger, of course I’d want to continue training her. She’s like a daughter to me.”

“Well, that settles it then.” Johnstar bounded over to the tallest tree in the camp, and climbed his way up to the lowest branch.

“Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Great Oak for a clan meeting!” he called out to the entire camp.

Gideon was still a bit stunned at how effortlessly he didn’t fall off the trunk when Aiglamene stood and started padding towards the mass of cats slowly gathering. Some of them looked over at her and Aiglamene, whispering to each other. She ignored all of them, fluffed out her fur, and went over to sit by Aiglamene.

When all the cats coming to the meeting had gathered, Johnstar spoke. “Today, we welcome two new cats into Lyctorclan.” At this, everyone turned towards them. Gideon gave them all her best roguish smile, while Aiglamene simply sat and stared at something in the distance. Was she remembering the day she left Skyclan? Was there a ceremony then, or just a quick goodbye?

“Aiglamene and her daughter, Gideon, were recruited by Silasowl on his latest journey. Gideon, please step forward.”

Gideon stood and padded over to the base of the tree, her speech already planned in her head. First, she would brag about her battle skills, then she would pick out the hottest she-cat and stare right at her as she demonstrated a few sick moves. But she never got the chance.

“Gideon, you are older than six moons, but still not ready to become a warrior yet. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Gideonpaw.”

Her new name rang in her ears, drowning out his next words. She heard nothing but the sound of her own name until she saw another cat walking towards the tree.

It was that insufferable black she-cat.

“Harrowhawk, you are ready to take on your first apprentice. You have received excellent training from Augustalon, and have shown yourself to be loyal and hardworking.”

Gideon felt her entire world spin out of focus. This couldn’t be happening. Any one of these cats could be her mentor. Why the cat who gave her foxing stink eye day one?

“You will be the mentor of Gideonpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to her.”

Harrowhawk‘s expression was still murderous, but it was toned down this time. She got up close in Gideonpaw’s face, to which she reeled back instinctively.

“Touch my nose.” Harrowhawk hissed under her breath. Gideonpaw did no such thing. So Harrowhawk closed the distance herself, their heads snacking together hard.

“Ow.” Gideonpaw complained to no one in particular.

Suddenly, there was a roar of sound. Gideonpaw looked past her new mentor to see that the entirety of Lyctorclan was chanting her name.

She looked to Aiglamene for help, as if her foster mother could somehow take back Johnstar’s decision. But then she saw how proud Aiglamene looked, and it was hard to feel sorry for herself.

Harrowhawk motioned for her to follow, and they both sat down at the edge of the group, on the opposite side as Aiglamene. There were many younger looking cats on this side of the clearing.

“Aiglamene.” Johnstar called out.

She hobbled up to the tree slowly.

“I’m not sure there’s a ceremony for this, but I’d like to welcome you into Lyctorclan as well.” Aiglamene shrugged in response.

“I forgot to ask, would you rather be a warrior or an elder? I hate to imply that you’re old, as you’re definitely not that old yet, but with your leg...” he trailed off and looked around, as if suddenly realizing he said that to the whole clan.

Aiglamene looked over at Gideonpaw, her face still as proud as ever. “Well, I’d hate to disappoint Gideonpaw by waddling off to the elders den before she gets to see me in battle, but I don’t know how long I can keep this up. I can hunt well enough, but I don’t want any more apprentices, and I am definitely done fighting.”

Johnstar nodded thoughtfully. “How about this. You can be a warrior as long as you feel up to the task. I won’t ask you to fight, but hunting and border patrol are fair game. How’s that sound?”

She smiled at Gideonpaw, then looked up at their leader. “Alright, I think I can handle that.”

Gideonpaw smiled back at her.

The leader of Lyctorclan called out to the rest of the clan, “Aiglamene, Starclan welcomes you into Lyctorclan with open paws.”

The clan cats called out her name too, and she padded over sit by Gideonpaw.

“Next up, we have a few young cats who have recently passed their warrior exams.” said Johnstar still in the tree. “Columpaw.” The young cat in question didn’t look too surprised to hear his name called. He went and sat at the base of the tree, just as she and Aiglamene had done moments ago.

Johnstar bounded down from the tree, and for a moment, Gideon thought he was going to take the apprentice aside and whisper some secret vow. But he spoke to the clan instead.

“I, Johnstar, leader of Lyctorclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior.” Columpaw was quiet, his face not giving away any of the excitement he must have felt.

“Columpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?”

“I do.” Columpaw said, his shaking voice betraying his stoic demeanor.

“Then by the powers of Starclan, I give you your warrior name. Columpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Columash. StarClan honors your loyalty, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Lyctorclan.”

The leader put his muzzle on Columash’s head, and the new warrior licked his shoulder. Well, that explains the weird clan name.

Finally, Johnstar called up Sexpaw. He spoke the same traditional words, so Gideonpaw tuned them out. Or at least she tried to.

But when Johnstar said, “Sexpaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Sexpal,” she absolutely lost it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sexpaw? Sexpal? Get it? Honestly, me coming up with Sexpaw was one of the key reasons I knew making this fic would be worth it.
> 
> And as expected, Harrowhawk is her mentor. I just realized in writing this that when the cats touch noses, it’s like how a knight and their squire would kiss when the trainee first becomes a squire. I never picked up on that in all my years of reading warrior cats. Even though I knew touching noses was basically a kiss. How the.....I feel so dumb.
> 
> But also, does that mean this was their first kiss?


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

To Gideonpaw’s amusement, the newly appointed Sexpal could not stand his new warrior name. He asked Silasowl to have it changed, then Johnstar, and finally he was told to shut it and go sit vigil with Columash. Apparently, holding vigil meant sitting still and not talking to each other all night, which honestly seemed like a waste of sleep to Gideonpaw.

Every moment that wasn’t spent eating fresh kill and going to bed was starting to sound horrible. She had to train with Harrowhawk, would have to sit vigil when she became a warrior, and had to partake in weird rituals that made her fur stand on end. At least she got to meet the apprentices.

There were two young apprentices, Jeanpaw and Isaacpaw. They seemed very nice, and were filled with excitement almost every waking moment. Jeanpaw had complimented her gorgeous fur when they first met, so she took an automatic liking to her. Their mentors were mated, and if they hadn’t said they used to be kitty pets, she would have assumed the four of them were a family.

And then there was Babspaw. He was moody, kept slicking back his fur every chance he got, and didn’t like her. He was training with an equally prickly she-cat, so it didn’t surprise her that he was so hard to get along with. She looked forward to beating him in battle training.

They all ate together before bed, then settled down in a particularly cozy bush for the night. Gideonpaw laid awake for a long time, before deciding that maybe taking a walk would help her sleep. She got up carefully, trying not to stir the other apprentices, and snuck out of camp.

Unfortunately, her walk was interrupted when she stumbled right into the two new warriors sitting before the log. They stared at her, not able to speak per their agreement. Then Gideonpaw got a great idea.

“Hey, Sexpal,” she began in hushed tones, “Do you think Johnstar picked your name on purpose? Did he sit down in his den one day and thought to himself, ‘I wonder what I can add to Sexpaw’s name that will make him go insane?’”

Sexpal was on his feet quicker than a hawk, staring at her with murder in his eyes. Columash put a paw on his shoulder, urging him to sit still. After a moment, he reluctantly sat back on his haunches.

He opened his jaw, about to speak, but she shushed him before he could say anything. “No talking, Sexpal. You don’t want to mess up on your first night as a warrior. And besides, with a name like that, one would think you’re experienced in keeping quiet.”

He managed to keep quiet, just barely. In the end, it was Columash who broke their vow of silence and whispered, “Stop annoying us and go back to sleep. We’re supposed to be watching the camp.”

Gideonpaw turned around, leaving them behind as she crossed the log bridge. Thankfully, they didn’t follow her or ask where she was going. As soon as she was out of earshot, she gave up holding in her laughter. Maybe living in Lyctorclan would be fun after all.

Everything was dark, except for the distant lights of the twoleg nest. The trees created shadows everywhere, but at least she could see the moon as it hung over the lake. The island looked so large at night, like all the tall trees littered across it blended together into one giant tree.

Since she had already been to the twoleg nest and the inlet, Gideonpaw decided to head right around the lake. Unfortunately, after just a short time, her path was blocked by a wide stream. Rather than attempt getting wet again crossing it, she decided to follow it away from the lake. At least that way she wouldn’t get lost.

Gideonpaw sniffed the air for cats, wondering if anyone else was awake this late. But there were no other smells besides her own and that of prey hunkered down in their burrows for the night.

Eventually, the stream met up with something large and made of stone. It was a bridge, similar to the log that led them onto the island. Twoleg smell was everywhere here. They must have laid down the rocks for this enormous bridge.

She got down close to the water and tasted the air. There were no prey scents. Too bad, she was starting to get hungry again.

A quiet breeze blew her way, and she suddenly tasted the smell of another cat. Gideonpaw ducked under the bridge, her paws and legs getting soaked halfway up to her belly. Mud squished beneath her feet, and she felt around for purchase on the pebbles littering the bottom of the stream.

Had she stumbled upon some other clan’s territory? Or had one of the new warriors come after her?

The breeze shifted before she could get a good grip on the smell, but then the cat, or rather cats, were talking.

“I told you, this is too close to the camp.” said the first voice. It was quiet, but she could at least make out it was a tom. “We should have met at the farm.”

“I can’t vouch for their silence.” said the first voice. This voice, too, was barely audible. And low. Another tom.

“Why can’t we meet at that other place anymore?” the first cat asked.

“I don’t know. Something happened that day. I trust you made it back safely as well?”

“Yes.”

Gideonpaw laid her tail flat against her back, pressing her flank to the underside of the bridge. She hoped they didn’t notice her, and that her scent blended in to the mud and stream.

If this was some sort of lovers tryst, she did not want to get in the middle of it. Anyways, isn’t it against the warrior code to take a mate from another clan?

This time, the second voice was asking the questions. “Did it work?”

“Yes. You said it didn’t work on this side, but I haven’t had any issues.”

“That changed as well. We need to find a more secluded place to make detailed plans. Where have you been staying?”

The first cat took his sweet time answering. “It’s safe.” he finally said. “There are no cats nearby, not that I’d let them live after seeing me.”

One of them chuckled. Was it the first cat, or the second? Their voices were too much alike in hushed tones to clearly identify them. Were they both from Lyctorclan? Gideonpaw thought she was the only cat awake in Lyctorclan, but she really couldn’t vouch for the warriors. She hadn’t thought to check their den before leaving.

Why should she have? She just wanted to go for a walk, maybe explore their territory a little bit, not get sucked into some weird drama.

These cats could be from other clans as well. She’d probably never met these two cats before, and would likely never meet them again. By tomorrow, none of this would matter.

“Good.” whispered the second cat. “I trust you can get started?”

“What do you take me for? A kittypet? You should know that better than any cat.”

“Oh, I know what you’re capable of. I just want to make sure you aren’t just going to abandon me and take all the glory for yourself.”

“Of course not, you idiot,” the first cat hissed at him. “I know killing you didn’t exactly send the right message, but look what we were able to do because of it.”

Wait, what? Gideon’s head spun. Were these cats ghosts? Was this Starclan? Surely, a cat from Starclan wouldn’t be bragging about killing a cat, but what other explanation was there?

One of her feet slipped under her, and she winced as her tail made a small splash in the water.

“What was that?” asked the first cat.

“I don’t know. You should go.”

“Let’s meet at the next claw moon.”

“Will you have enough time?”

“I thought you trusted my ability?”

“Fine. Here?”

“No, further away. The half bridge between here and the moors.”

“Alright.”

Then everything went silent. Gideonpaw stood perfectly still, silently waiting to be found. This was so dumb. Why hadn’t she just stayed in her nest and gone to sleep?

After a long time of standing in the freezing cold water without a single cat discovering her, she realized they had left. She still tasted the air to make sure, but the breeze that had carried their scent was gone.

Gideonpaw climbed out of the stream, shaking the mud from her paws. Her whole body ached from the journey to the lake, all the excitement she had felt during the naming ceremony was wearing off.

She followed the stream back to the lake, and then to camp. Both Columash and Sexpal were still sitting in silence when she returned.

Sexpal turned his head at her. He could have been asking anything, really. But she wasn’t in the mood for any of it. She was cold, tired, and soaked to the bone. Not a great combination.

“Where have you been?” came a shrill, yet quiet voice from behind the two cats on vigil.

Gideonpaw stopped short, recognizing the voice. “Umm....” she began.

Harrowhawk stepped out from behind Sexpal and Columash. “Tomorrow, you will be doing chores around camp. And the day after that. You will not leave the camp at any point in the next two days. Is that clear?”

Gideonpaw hissed at her mentor. “I just went for a walk!”

“I don’t care what you were doing. Three days.” Harrowhawk added.

“Alright,” she whispered harshly, “I’ll help around camp for two days.”

“Three.” Harrowhawk was not going to let up on this.

“Two and a half.”

“Three, and if you don’t shut up and get to bed, I’ll dunk you in the lake.”

“Fine,” Gideonpaw growled. She was not about to get soaked for a third time in one day.

All the apprentices were awake when she climbed back into her nest. They all scooted away from her wet fur, huddling together on the other side of the den.

Gideonpaw curled up by herself and immediately fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLOT. IT’S PLOT TIME GUYS. And also, more Sexpal jokes, because why not?


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 5

The next three days were absolute torture. Gideonpaw had spent her whole life in the wild with Aiglamene, so being cooped up in camp felt like how kittypets must feel. Or maybe they were weirdly excited by the prospect of being locked in a twoleg den all day.

Harrowhawk gave her chores, go fetch some moss, organize the herbs with their medicine cat, Mercymorn, pick off Aiglamene’s ticks, and the list kept growing. Every time Gideonpaw thought she had a moment to herself to rest or eat, Harrowhawk had her doing something else.

Currently, it was day three, and she was collecting fallen branches to strengthen the nursery. Not that any cats had kits right now, but Harrowhawk insisted they had to be prepared just in case.

All of the branches were really big, hence why no other cat had bothered to move them. Gideonpaw had to figure out how to break them into smaller pieces, then she had to drag them to the nursery, and finally she had to weave them into the back wall.

And did anyone offer to help? Well, Jeanpaw did come by to ask if she needed anything, but Harrowhawk sent her away with a snarl. So it was just Gideonpaw stuck doing this stupid task alone.

About halfway through the branch pile, Abigailpine stopped by to watch her. She just sat there and licked her paws and watched Gideonpaw struggle with the branches, as if she didn’t already have enough trouble with Harrowhawk looming over her all day.

Finally, after she had been stared at for the entire second half of the morning, Magnustorm padded over. The orange tom took Gideonpaw aside and whispered something into her ear. “She’s hoping for kits someday. Not right now, of course. Not with us being mentors, but after that.”

Gideonpaw glanced over at Abigailpine, and suddenly everything made sense. The orange and white she-cat wasn’t smiling because she was enjoying the show, she was smiling because Gideonpaw was fixing up the nursery, and that meant she would have a nice place to raise kits.

Something in Gideonpaw bloomed to life, and the work didn’t seem so unbearable anymore. When Harrowhawk finally told her to stop for the day, she was exhausted, but happy about it.

That night, she slept like a kit, knowing that tomorrow she wouldn’t be stuck in camp anymore.

Gideonpaw woke up the next morning feeling stiff all over. Her legs ached from all the hard work, and her jaw was sore from carrying so many branches. But then she noticed Harrowhawk was prodding her with a claw, and that the sun hadn’t even come up yet.

“Not yet,” she groaned. “Just let me sleep until sunrise.”

Harrowhawk did not stop. “We have dawn patrol this morning. Get up now.”

Gideonpaw’s eyes snapped open. Patrol? Finally, something interesting. She stood up, shaking out the stiffness in her legs, and stretched.

“Where to, my shadowy feline?” she asked.

Harrowhawk gave her one of those looks. No, not the one you’re picturing. It’s a bit more vicious, a tad more butthurt, with just a hint of cold hearted murder. At least all of Harrowhawk’s threats were empty.

For now.

Harrowhawk never answered her question, not even when they crossed the log and headed towards the stream. Along with them were two more cats she didn’t recognize. The first cat was a large tom with light brown fur. His name was Prowhisker, though he wasn’t the one to announce his own name. He barely talked.

It was the other cat on patrol with them who told her their names. This other cat was a gorgeous she-cat named Duncineablossom. She was an orange tabby with fur that looked softer than a kit’s fur.

Harrowhawk kept trying to point out landmarks as they passed the stone bridge from the other night’s adventure, but Gideonpaw heard none of it. All she saw was Dulcineablossom. She tried her best to hide her stolen glances, but with Dulcineablossom and Prowhisker leading the patrol from the front, it was hard to look elsewhere.

All she knew was they had long since passed the bridge, and were currently looking at a huge stretch of open territory.

“This is the back part of our territory.” Harrowhawk was saying. “It used to be fox and badger territory, but they were all either killed or scared off by cats from Lyctorclan before I was born.”

There were small bushes and little hills, but the only trees were a long ways out. “How far does our territory go?” Gideonpaw asked, trying to at least look engaged while her brain was still snagging on Dulcineablossom.

“To the big tree grove,” mewed Dulcineablossom. “All these plains belong to Lyctorclan. It stretches as far as the trees, coming to a point when they meet up with the twoleg path.” She pointed off to the left with her tail, and it wasn’t too hard to see the spot where the path and trees met in a sharp point.

“What about behind us, on the other side of the path?”

The four of them turned around, looking back towards the dirt path they had just crossed. It was Prowhisker who answered. “There is a tree grove bordering our territory there also.”

“Unfortunately,” Harrowhawk began, “the farm splits up our camp and our territory. Twolegs can’t be trusted to do anything right.”

This was the first thing Harrowhawk had said that Gideonpaw wholeheartedly agreed with. Twolegs are all mouse brains.

“Come along.” Harrowhawk mewed, taking off at a brisk pace towards the tree grove. Along the stream, Prowhisker and Harrowhawk marked their territory at different rocks and bushes. Dulcineablossom didn’t even go near the stream, taking up a slower pace than the others.

Gideonpaw walked beside her, sniffing the air for the scent of other cats. But there was nothing.

“Is there another clan on the other side of the stream?” she asked the pretty cat, but not after a few moments of building up the courage.

“Riverclan lives that way, but they stick close to the lake. Because of the farm sitting right in the middle of our hunting grounds, our territory stretches further out than any other clan.”

Before Gideonpaw could ask more questions, she heard a yowl from up ahead.

Dulcineablossom froze, while Gideonpaw bounded forward, heading for the trees where Harrowhawk and Prowhisker had gone.

Her mentor came running out of some low bushes, a bright orange blur hot on her heels. Prowhisker was a few tail lengths behind the snarling animal.

“Fox! Run!” Harrowhawk yelled. She turned to face the creature, darting under its muzzle to give it a swipe with her front paws. Within moments, Prowhisker was on top of the fox, digging in his claws, biting down on its exposed neck.

Gideonpaw hesitated before listening to her mentor, wondering if she should help them fight it off.

But Harrowhark saw her pause, and yowled, “Go get help! Now!”

Gideonpaw turned around and started running back to camp, Dulcineablossom following behind. Just after she crossed the twoleg path, she noticed that the orange tabby was wheezing and struggling to keep up. Was something wrong?

“Go,” Dulcineablossom urged her. “I’ll hide under the bridge.” She waited to make sure Dulcineablossom was hidden, then she took off as quickly as she could.

Just as Gideonpaw was rounding the farm, she saw pair of cats stalking something in the grass. She let out a loud yowl, catching their attention. “Fox! Help!”

The two brown she-cats shared a quick glance, then followed her as she led them back to the twoleg path. None of them spoke a single word, all three of them focused on running faster.

When they arrived at the path, Gideonpaw saw that Harrowhawk and the fox had fought their way to the bridge, Prowhisker nowhere to be seen. Dulcineablossom was cowering beneath the bridge like a scared kit.

The two she-cats immediately jumped into the fray, coming at the fox from opposite sides. Gideonpaw went to guard Dulcineablossom, not trusting herself in battle with the more experienced warriors. She couldn’t see much from where they were behind the heavy stone, but she heard a lot of yowls.

Dulcineablossom tucked herself into Gideonpaw’s side, her whole body shaking. If she hadn’t been so foxing scared, she might have enjoyed this moment. Wait one moment. Why didn’t Dulcineablossom go fight? Why was she cowering under the bridge?

Eventually, Gideonpaw heard a loud yelp, and she peeked her head over the edge of the bridge. She looked up in time to see the fox pinned under the two brown she-cats, one of them with her jaws locked around its neck.

Eventually, it broke free and ran off away from the stream, towards the tree grove where it had come from. But it was limping heavily and losing blood from a deep gash in its side. The fox probably wouldn’t make it far before it collapsed.

Dulcineablossom peered out from behind Gideonpaw. “Where’s Prowhisker?” she asked.

“I don’t know.” Gideonpaw answered truthfully. The brown tabby was nowhere to be seen. Had he been injured somewhere by the trees?

She and Dulcineablossom came out from under the bridge, padding over to where the other warriors were. Harrowhawk was breathing hard, bleeding from a couple of wounds. But she was still standing. Was it cruel to want a new mentor, if that meant Harrowhawk’s death?

“Where’s Prowhisker?” Dulcineablossom asked again.

“He got injured,” Harrowhawk meowed between breaths, “I left him by the stream.”

Dulcineablossom started picking her way upstream, searching for Prowhisker. Both of the brown she-cats followed her, watching the area like they expected the fox to come back for revenge.

Gideonpaw padded over to her mentor, and was suddenly able to see how injured she really was. There were two big gashes on her back, both of which were bleeding badly. Harrowhawk’s tiny paws were shaking, probably from the blood loss. When Gideonpaw offered her shoulder to lean on, Harrowhawk hissed at her and stepped away.

“At least sit down.” Gideonpaw growled, quickly losing her patience. Since when did she become the sensible one?

Harrowhawk never got the chance to respond, as she immediately passed out.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry about sadness. It’s just, well, it happens in GtN so I don’t feel so bad.

Chapter 6

By the time they got back to where Harrowhawk had left Prowhisker at the stream, it was almost midday. Prowhisker was in worse shape than Harrowhawk, who was leaning, not by choice, against Gideonpaw. He had scratches down his back, and a large gash on his stomach. But the worst of his injuries was the horrible bite on his neck that was deep and gushing.

Dulcineablossom silently volunteered to stay with him by the stream while they fetched help, crouching next to him and pressing her muzzle into his bloody side. He had passed out long ago, and if it weren’t for the slow rising and falling of his chest, he looked dead.

The two she-cats, who Gideonpaw now knew were Judithdew and Martaclaw, were looking gravely down at the injured tom. Judithdew broke the silence. “To be frank, I don’t have much hope for him. Let’s go get help for Harrowhawk, and someone to carry back his carcass.”

“Don’t talk about death that way,” Harrowhawk rasped, her voice labored and barely audible. Neither of the she-cats seemed to hear her. She tried to walk back towards camp, but staggered on her feet. Gideonpaw rushed to get her shoulder underneath Harrowhawk, intending to pick her up and carry her back to camp.

Harrowhawk hissed and tried to get away, but Martaclaw was there, helping her climb onto Gideonpaw’s back. She let herself be draped over Gideonpaw’s shoulders, the blood loss probably clouding her usually stubborn demeanor.

Gideonpaw was surprised how little she weighed. How could a cat be this tiny and yet hold off the fox by herself? At some point, Harrowhawk passed out. They walked in silence the rest of the way back to camp.

As soon as they crossed the log bridge, a black and white tom spotted them. He ran off to get Mercymorn, their medicine cat. Gideonpaw followed him to a brush patch up against a tangle of tree roots, carefully laying Harrowhawk on a nest of moss that looked comfortable. Judithdew and Martaclaw went off towards Johnstar’s den.

Mercymorn was frantically grabbing herbs and cobwebs, dropping them at Gideonpaw’s feet, rattling off rapid instructions she could not keep up with. It didn’t help that the instructions were mixed in with what she could only assume was some sort of jab at Harrowhawk’s tiny stature.

“Get cobwebs on her wound. But marigold first, for infection. THIS is exactly why kits shouldn’t be allowed to fight foxes. She’s what, twelve moons old? Feed her these poppy seeds. I don’t want her waking up until her body has had time to heal.”

None of this made any sense to Gideonpaw, so she sat there and waited until Mercymorn saw she had done nothing. Mercymorn sighed, then got to work. Turns out, it wasn’t as difficult as it looked. There were only two herbs and a pile of cobwebs. But Gideonpaw wasn’t training to be a medicine cat, so she spaced and stared out across camp.

Most of Lyctorclan was out on patrol or hunting, but the few cats who lay about were looking around, sensing that something had happened. The rest of the hunting patrol that was out with Judithdew and Martaclaw came back, as well as a patrol that had been visiting Riverclan.

Eventually, a small group of cats went to fetch Prowhisker and Dulcineablossom. As the rest of the camp slowly seeped in, they started to hover around Gideonpaw, asking about the fight.

Just as she was about to start her third retelling, Mercymorn got fed up with so many cats bothering her, and started yowling. The crowd dispersed, Gideonpaw following them away from the medicine den and her mentor.

She ended up sitting with the two former-kittypet apprentices and their mentors. Magnustorm kept asking if she was alright, but she wasn’t really hearing him. Gideonpaw kept looking back towards the medicine den, and found her thoughts lingering on her mentor.

Sure, Harrowhawk could be a bit bossy at times, but wasn’t there supposed to be something special in the bond between a mentor and their apprentice? Was Gideonpaw supposed to be over their with her, bringing her fresh poultices and water?

When she looked back at the apprentices to answer a question about the fox fight, she saw that Magnustorm was also looking towards the medicine den. Had he caught her lingering stares?

“I guess it was pretty big.” Gideonpaw told Jeanpaw.

“Did it have a bushy red tail?”

“I think it was red and white.”

Both apprentices were staring at her wide-eyed. Had they never seen a fox before? Her and Aiglamene had seen one once. They climbed a tree and watched as it sniffed all around the trunk and pounced on a leaf pile, coming up with a plump mouse.

“Look!” exclaimed Isaacpaw, turning towards the camp entrance.

Gideonpaw whipped her head around in time to see Silasowl and Columash dragging a limp cat between them. They laid Prowhisker on the ground, and Mercymorn hurried over to look at him. Dulcineablossom was just a few pawsteps behind them, and she flopped down next to his body, taking up the same position she had back at the River.

Within a few moments, Mercymorn stepped back, shaking her head. “He’s dead.”

Dulcineablossom let out a loud wail. Gideonpaw found she couldn’t turn away. Something in the way Dulcineablossom cried out for her friend? mate? made her insides squirm. It was a tad painful, because a cat had just died, but somehow it also felt good. Had she ever felt anything like that before in her life?

Gideonpaw startled when she felt another cat press up against her. Abigailpine was wrapping her tail around Gideonpaw, gently licking at her fur, like Aiglamene used to do when she was a kit. As weird as it was feeling a cat she barely knew be so familiar, she had to admit it helped her nerves.

Gideonpaw stared out at the crowd of cats gathered, not really seeing anyone in particular. “What now?” she asked Abigailpine.

“The cats closest to him will stay with him all night. In the morning, some of us will bury him on the far side of the island.”

It was too blunt. No one deserved to go home to Starclan with such a dull send off.

Johnstar came out of his den to mourn with the others, but as much as she hoped he would say something to reassure everyone, he sat in silence.

Gideonpaw stayed in the center of camp long enough to eat something, though she couldn’t bring herself to scarf down more than a single mouse. She took another mouse and padded over to the medicine den, hoping that Harrowhawk would want to eat something.

Mercymorn popped out from the brush. “Harrowhawk is still asleep.” she said after a short pause.

Gideonpaw ignored her and went to see her mentor anyways. Harrowhawk was asleep, so Gideonpaw left the mouse for when she woke up. Then, she curled up next to her mentor.

Not that she cared. But someone should be there to make sure she didn’t try to escape and go on patrol with that wound. Soon enough, the excitement of the day finally wore off, and Gideonpaw fell into a deep sleep.

Gideonpaw woke sometime in the early morning to loud yowls. Oh for fox’s sake, wasn’t she ever going to get a decent night’s sleep?

“Get out of my den!” yowled Mercymorn.

“I just came to ask about Harrowhawk.” came the voice of the offender.

“I said get out!” Gideonpaw looked up to see the big black and white cat from earlier staring down at Mercymorn. She may have been the smaller cat, but with her fur fluffed up and her back arched in a threatening stance, she looked so much taller.

The other cat fluffed out his fur, and now he was taller. “Just because you don’t like me, doesn’t give you the right to kick me out of the medicine den. Would you refuse to treat me if I was the one injured?”

Mercymorn flicked her thick tan tail. “I’m not going to say it again. Get out of my den!”

Why did every single she-cat in Lyctorclan have to be so hard to get along with? Why couldn’t there just be a few good-natured hotties? Gideonpaw curled into a ball and put her tail over her eyes, trying to block out their argument

“But Mercy—“

“But nothing,” she interrupted. “You are done speaking. Turn around and get moving, or I’ll feed you mouse bile.”

“My, my. What am I going to do with you two?” Somehow in the midst of their argument, Johnstar had arrived. Gideonpaw opened her eyes, peering out from behind her tail.

Both cats jumped at his voice, turning to face their leader. “I thought I told you two to behave.” Despite his stern voice, he didn’t look that upset.

“Johnstar!” Mercymorn exclaimed, “Harrowhawk needs her rest, and if Augustalon keeps pestering me, she’ll wake up—“

“You’re the one keeping us up!” Augustalon yowled back at her.

“Well, if you hadn’t come in here in the first place—“

Whatever she had to say was cut off by a loud growl from Johnstar. “Enough,” he meowed. “Augustalon, go set up the morning patrols. Stop wasting your time with Mercymorn and go do your job.”

Gideonpaw curled away from them, thankful that she could go back to sleep.

“Gideonpaw.” Johnstar called.

She groaned and rolled back over.

“I know your mentor is badly injured, but you still need training. I’m going out hunting today with a patrol, would you like to come along?” Something about the way he casually invited her on a hunting patrol with him felt too casual for a clan leader.

“Sure.” she mewed, and stood, shaking the sleep from her legs.

Johnstar turned around to leave, calling back over his shoulder. “Meet me at my den around midday. Until then, get some rest. You had a harrowing day yesterday.”

It took a few moments of standing with her jaw wide open for Gideonpaw to gain the mental capacity to ask Mercymorn, “Did he say that on purpose?” Had she finally found someone else with a sense of humor? 

As soon as Gideonpaw had gotten comfy, Mercymorn mumbled to herself, “I really hate his jokes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided that you guys needed a good dad joke to make up for all the sadness. I hope you don’t mind.

**Author's Note:**

> I’d like to shoutout to SilentVoid on the discord for this idea. I said something about everybody as animals like forever ago, and then suddenly they said something about warrior cats au. Warrior cats were the first real books that I got super invested in, so OF COURSE I HAD TO WRITE THE AU.


End file.
